Maisie Richardson-Sellers Offers Sage Relationship Advice to Nine Perfect Strangers Character
Since MTV's reality juggernaut The Real World aired, audiences have been fascinated by the human study of putting complete strangers together in one location. What's not to love about watching "what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real"? It's a tried-and-true formula that we've also seen translated into some of the biggest TV dramas today, like the seemingly perfect hotel getaways of The White Lotus, the infamous Hollywood quarrels of Ryan Murphy's Feud, and the luxury wellness retreats of Hulu's Nine Perfect Strangers. Each chapter of these anthology series, set in new locations with a new group of interesting characters (save for one or two recurring characters) at their center, offers an extremely captivating microcosm of society that is wholly entertaining—if not mildly stressful—to watch.
Lucky for us, one of those brilliant shows, Nine Perfect Strangers, is back following a record-breaking first season. Trading in the California sunshine and idyllic Tranquillum House for the icy Austrian Alps and sprawling mountaintop resort Zauberwald, season two welcomes nine new wealthy guests for a complete mind-and-body healing experience. Returning at the helm is the program's fearless leader and wellness guru, Masha Dmitrichenko (an excellent Nicole Kidman)—this time sporting a severe bob and facing her own financial and emotional demons—to guide her patients through unconventional microdosing treatments.
Much like its first season, the Nine Perfect Strangers season two ensemble is jam-packed with talent that shines from every corner: Mark Strong as angry billionaire David; Christine Baranski as the impossibly glamorous absentee mother Victoria; Murray Bartlett as disgraced children's TV host Brian; Annie Murphy as the smart yet troubled Imogen; Henry Golding as rich kid Peter looking to reconnect with his father; King Princess as creatively stuck piano virtuoso Tina; and Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Wolfie, Tina's smothering girlfriend. The story and arc of Wolfie and Tina—a couple on the brink of despair, one half just hoping to escape the intense expectations of being a music prodigy and the other desperate for her partner to find herself again—is a particular standout. King Princess, in her acting debut, and Richardson-Sellers deliver dynamic, heart-wrenching performances in this pressure-cooker relationship ready to burst open.
Following last night's pivotal episode for Tina and Wolfie (episode four), we talk to actor, producer, and director Richardson-Sellers about feeling unsettled in Wolfie's vulnerability, the "magic" of working with King Princess, and the master class that is watching Kidman at work.
What was your entry point to Nine Perfect Strangers? Liane Moriarty's book? Season one?
I'd watched Big Little Lies and loved it. Through some research, I was like, "Interesting, it's based on a book." When Nine Perfect Strangers came out, I was like, "Okay, same writer." I watched it, and what I love about her books and how they have been translated is the human studies. It's the diversity and the gray area that it leads into. It's very much what's not said as much as what is said, and it's all about the tension building as well. I think what they did well with this season is it's nine completely different humans. It's such a weird, quirky mix of people put together in the middle of nowhere left to figure it out for themselves.
Speaking of new characters, what were the qualities of Wolfie that really interested you?
